The truth about why tourists are leaving Las Vegas

By Robert Jackman

The Telegraph

While most of us Vegas regulars have long assumed that Sin City is immortal, viral videos on social media are apparently telling a different story. Over on YouTube, there are dozens of clips of seemingly empty scenes on the Strip, as influencers gawp into the camera and proclaim that the party is truly over.

Can it really be that Vegas is emptying out, and falling from favor? The official statistics suggest that, at the very least, there is a downward trend at play. Numbers from the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (the guys who coined the “What happens in Vegas” slogan) show tourism is down 6.5 per cent since last year, with a marked slump since April.

As you might expect, gambling revenues have dwindled too, with a 2.9 per cent year-on-year drop across the sector — enough to wipe some $600 million from casino revenues this year. If you concentrate purely on the Strip casinos that depend almost exclusively on out-of-towners, the drop is even bigger at 3.9 per cent.

Some claim it’s down to the general squeeze of disposable income, with surveys showing a drop in overall consumer confidence across the States. Naturally, anti-Trump types have been quick to jump on any evidence that the decline could be partly the fault of the White House — and when it comes to one particular measure they may well have a point.

Though budget hotels in Las Vegas have suffered, luxury resort bookings appear broadly level with last year - Joe Buglewicz

According to LVCVA figures, Canadians make up around 3 per cent of Vegas visitors, with 1.4 million making the trip last year. Yet one year later, the data shows that more Canadians are thinking twice about crossing the border, perhaps due to the President’s fiery rhetoric towards his northern neighbor.

Recent figures from Vegas’s Harry Reid Airport show that arrivals on Air Canada jets are down 5 per cent year-on-year, while passenger numbers for the low-cost Canadian carrier Flair have plummeted 55 per cent. Not the sort of thing you want to see in an already tight economy.

Where does it all leave Vegas? The overall decline is real, but it isn’t as bad as some headlines suggest, says casino expert John Mehaffey, who runs the Vegas Advantage website.

“The slowdown has been more noticeable at the lower end of the market, but luxury resorts appear broadly level with last year,” he says. “In any event, Vegas is always a bit slower in the summer.”

As for those viral videos showing the supposed death of Vegas, he suspects some of the creators have been disingenuous in their tactics. “I saw one picture of empty side walks in front of Caesars Palace, but you could see from the position of the sun that the photo was taken in the early part of the morning,” he says.

On the other hand, plenty of social media users are convinced they’ve found the real reason that fewer people are visiting Las Vegas — rip-off prices. In June, a humble bottle of water briefly became a social media sensation, when one stunned traveler revealed that it had been priced at a shocking $26 in the mini-bar at the iconic Bellagio hotel. The story was picked up across the American media.

On the popular discussion website Reddit, meanwhile, forums about Las Vegas have descended into a strange game of Top Trumps, with users competing to see who can find the most excessive examples of Vegas pricing during their visit. “I paid $14 for a bottle of Sprite and $32 for chicken tenders,” posted one user, sounding strangely proud about the whole experience.

Of course, steep prices are nothing new in Sin City. But while the world’s entertainment capital has never been cheap, the data shows that prices have jumped disproportionately since the pandemic, with a 50 per cent rise in the average hotel room price since 2019. Fees and charges have also spiked, as casinos seek to make up for lost revenues during the shutdown.

As Vegas regulars will know, it isn’t hard to avoid the worst of the pricing — provided you do your homework in advance. As a rule of thumb, I always advise anyone staying on the Strip to do as much as their discretionary spending (things like refreshments and snacks) outside of the casino resort, given that most are notorious for high prices.

Another option is to get off the Strip altogether and opt for a downtown casino. Fremont Street might lack some of the extravagance of the Bellagio, but it’s certainly no less vibrant.

Not only are the prices much cheaper (and the odds marginally more generous), but it’s a much shorter walk to get to independent restaurants and bars that cost a fraction of those on the Strip.

Some might say that penny-pinching goes against the Vegas spirit. But my attitude has always been the less money you spend unnecessarily — for example, on a $10 coke from a casino concession store — the more you have to spend on the genuinely exciting stuff, whether that’s playing the tables or seeing one of the shows.

Will the falling visitor numbers force Vegas to change tack on its premium prices? There are already signs that some casinos are doing just that, says John Mehaffey. This summer, the Resorts World hotel and casino waived some of its charges (including the hated resort fee) in a bid to attract more visitors.

As for what the future holds beyond that, Sin City will have plenty on its plate dealing with everything from Gen Z’s famous aversion to alcohol to the liberalization of sports betting across much of the States. Expect the push towards big sporting events like the Super Bowl and Formula 1 to continue at full speed, given they don’t rely on gamblers or drinkers to make money.

All in all, it seems the decline of Vegas has been exaggerated.

This glorious city has seen off a slump many times before, and you can bet your bottom dollar it will do the same again.